Robert Bruce Simonds Jr. (born 1964) is an American film producer, entrepreneur, and the founder & chairman of STX Entertainment, which creates, produces, distributes, finances, and markets film (as STXfilms), television (as STXtelevision), digital media (as STXdigital), and live events as well as virtual reality (as STXsurreal). The company bridges the gap between China and the US, with additional partnerships around the globe (as STXinternational). According to The Wall Street Journal in its first four years, Simonds more than tripled the company's valuation to an estimated US$3.5 billion. In September 2017, it was reported that STX was close to an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK), and in April 2018, the company announced it had filed for an IPO. In October 2018, it was announced that STX would not go through with the IPO, as market conditions had changed. Prior to working at STX, Simonds was an independent film producer whose over 30 films have generated more than $6 billion in worldwide box office revenue.
Early life and education
Simonds was born in Phoenix the son of Robert Bruce Simonds Sr., a businessman. He graduated from Yale University.
Producing
From 1990 to 2012, Simonds produced over 30 Hollywood studio films, including the Adam Sandler films Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy and The Waterboy; Cheaper by the Dozen, and The Pink Panther which stars Steve Martin. He also produced This Means War with Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon and Tom Hardy. Simonds has produced a number of highly-profitable cult films including Joe Dirt and Half Baked.
STX Entertainment
Formation
In 2012, Simonds and Bill McGlashan, founder and managing partner of private equity firm TPG Growth, began conceptualizing and building a film, television and multimedia company that would make, market and distribute star-driven, commercial content to be distributed worldwide. In 2014, STX Entertainment was formally launched with financing led by TPG Growth, and the company later secured investments from Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital and other individuals including Gigi Pritzker and William "Beau" Wrigley, Jr. II.
Serving as chairman and CEO of STX, Simonds hired entertainment industry veterans to build his executive team including former Viacom Entertainment Group COO Thomas B. McGrath and former CEO of Crest Animation Noah Fogelson. Former Universal Pictures chairman Adam Fogelson and former Disney and Fox production and marketing chief Oren Aviv were also added to the team. Discovery Communications' former CFO Andrew Warren and former Paramount Pictures and Condé Nast communications head Patricia Röckenwagner later also joined.
The company has multiple divisions: film (STXfilms), which includes animation and family content; television (STXtelevision), which includes scripted and unscripted content; and digital media (STXdigital); along with an international partnership and distribution arm headquartered in London (STXinternational).
In 2016, the company received additional investment from Chinese Internet company Tencent and Hong Kong-based telecommunications company PCCW, and East West Bank's chairman and CEO Dominic Ng. In 2017, the world's largest international television and broadband company Liberty Global invested an undisclosed amount in the company. Funds from that round of financing will be used to continue to build STX Entertainment's TV division, further expand internationally and potentially make acquisitions. In March 2019, STX raised $700 million in new capital, in a round led by TPG Growth and Hony Capital, to help STX release more films, expand its TV business, and pursue acquisitions.
STX Entertainment's Board of Directors is composed of investors and industry veterans including: Simonds, David Bonderman (founding partner of TPG Capital), John Zhao (CEO of Hony Capital), Gigi Pritzker (founder of MWM Studios), Janice Lee (managing director of PCCW Media Group), Tracy Cui (managing director of Hony Capital), Frank Biondi (former president and CEO of Viacom and former chairman and CEO of Universal Studios; senior managing director of WaterView Advisors), Dominic Ng (chairman and CEO of East West Bank), Carmen Chang (chairman of New Enterprise Associates), and Bruce Mann (chief programming officer of Liberty Global).